Book facts: Sri Lanka’s Other Half: A Guide to the Central, Eastern & Nothern Provinces; by Juliet Coombe and Daisy Perry
“Far from the war-ravaged zones, mass graves and internment camps presented by the international media, this book reveals the other side of the story, introducing a place that contains some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, ancient jungle ruins, pristine rainforests, wildlife parks with the largest elephant gathering of the world and huge mangrove lagoons bursting with exotic flora and fauna” says the introduction to “Sri Lanka’s Other Half”.
Launched recently at a simple ceremony held at Nuga Gama, Cinnamon Grand Hotel, this book by photojournalist Juliet Coombe and Daisy Perry is an exhilarating guide for the adventurous traveller to the North, East and Central Sri Lanka, covering areas that have been shut off to tourism due to the civil war for over 26 years.
Ruins in Jaffna
If a book can make a big difference in the minds of the tourists luring them to this beautiful island; “Sri Lanka’s Other Half” can definitely be placed in the front of the campaign. “This book makes you want to drop everything and go immediately before it all changes” says Steve Dave – BBC best selling author of ‘Unforgettable Places to see Before You Die’.
But I prefer to call the guide kahambiliya. Like you start itching when you touch the kahambiliya plant, after reading the “Other Half” you start itching to go to these places and explore them. The language in the guide is so captivating you feel like you are travelling along with the writers while reading it.
It is not only the tips on how you should travel around, the book also explores the life of the people and tells interesting stories that will keep coming to mind whenever you visit that area. The guide can be used by up-market tourists as well as back-packers for the writers with their team of young explorers had even done the bus journeys so as to have the real feel of exploring these areas.
The writers were, in fact, among the first travellers to the North soon after the war. Juliet Coombe was eight months pregnant at the time she made her road journey to Jaffna carrying her two-year-old son Samad. A well-known BBC Lonely Planet photographer Juliet is married to a Sri Lankan and lives in Galle Fort.
“The aim of the book is to highlight that travel is for everyone whether you are young or elderly, a mum, pregnant, an independent traveller or a crazy adventurer,” says Juliet. Juliet and Daisy discovered that North, East and Central Sri Lanka certainly have something for everyone.
I’m among thousands of fellow Sri Lankans who want to travel Jaffna, but have no idea where to begin. The guide gave me enough tips from preparation to accommodation to where to find the famous Jaffna ice cream parlours, giving me the confidence to visit the unknown area.
Like its language, the photographs in the book all have their own character. The ‘Other Half’ is full of photographs and interesting stories. The war is over and tourism is already experiencing a revival. “Sri Lanka’s Other Half” carries a welcome message to all those who wants to visit this beautiful island.
The Killing of Monday Brown is the 2nd of three books in the Phoebe Siegel mystery series by Sandra West Prowell. The series is set in Montana, home of the author. This book revolves around indian culture and traditionalism. It was very interesting and, although not the best book I’ve read, a good read.
Now here’s a way to decide which book to read next- what goes well with your decor? It gave me great pleasure to see Penny Russell’s This Errant Lady lying on my bed, matching so well with my doona cover! Martha Stewart, eat your heart out!
I was drawn to read this after finishing Ken McGoogan’s Lady Franklin’s Revenge recently. I’d forgotten that Jane Franklin visited Port Phillip and Sydney in 1839 and I was interested to see what she said about Port Phillip in particular, even though Judge Willis, the Resident Judge of Port Phillip had not arrived at this stage. I’ve been writing a chapter the last few weeks on Judge Willis’ involvement in colonial politics, which has taken me back to his relationships with Sydney colonists, and as a member of the government elite (albeit of a neighbouring colony), Jane Franklin was well-placed to comment on political events and personalities in Sydney.
Having now read her journal of her overland trip to Port Phillip and Sydney in 1839, I can now see why Ken McGoogan wrote the biography he did, quite apart from any other propensities that a writer on arctic exploration might have. Jane Franklin’s journals are travel diaries in the true sense of the word- lots of information about routes taken, facts gleaned, people met etc. but not much about her own inner world. I share the frustration of Penny Russell the editor in her preface:
In recording this epic adventure, Jane Franklin treated her diary essentially as a notebook, producing a compendium of often unrelated scraps of information. This was in keeping with her general habit in travel writing. Despite her enthusiasm for knowledge, Jane Franklin rarely ventured to express her opinions, speculations, or interpretations in writing. The judgments offered in this, as in all her diaries, are generally borrowed from guidebooks, histories or local inhabitants. Whether she agreed with them or not, she did not see her diary as a space for formulating her own opinions. She confined her attention to the external, the observable- to what could be ‘fixed’ on the page (p. 16). … Her opinions, her thoughts, her own personality must be deduced as much from what is unwritten as from what is written- her character sketched in the space left vacant in her accounts. (p. 17)
This utilitarian approach can be partly explained by the fiction by which her trip was justified, both to her husband and to Tasmanians generally- that it was a research trip into a sister-colony that would be of use to her husband Sir John Franklin, Governor of Van Diemen’s Land, and would be a form of diplomatic representation of VDL at a governor-to-governor level. The reality was that she was restless and curious and liked nothing better than getting away from her husband and the scrutiny of a small colonial society. Mind you, she liked her comforts too- the iron bedstead came on this trip, just as it did on all her journeys- but you sense the increasing tightness of protocol and deference as she moves from the outlying areas into the more settled districts surrounding Sydney.
The editor, Penny Russell, has excluded much of the weight of detail that shackled Ken McGoogan’s biography, but she has tried to keep enough in
to preserve the rich texture of Jane Franklin’s portrayal of a colony arrested at a particular moment of development: a moment of optimism for the future, in a society still built on convict labour and pastoral expansion, in which progress rested upon the sufferings of the chain gangs and the brutually dispossessed Aborigines…But the catastrophic pastoral depression that would destroy the hopes of so many in the early 1840s had not yet made its mark, and the grandeur of half built churches and suburban villas, the growing concern over education, and the diversity of experiments in agriculture and industry all suggest an overall confidence. (p. 16-7)
Russell has also worked hard, though, to preserve the human aspects of Jane Franklin’s interactions with the people she met. Her trip was a long one- from April to July 1839- and she was quite devious in her excuses to cut it short as Sir John wished her to do. But she probably should have: it was quite clear by July that she had outstayed her welcome with the Gipps’, and it is her discomfort at this knowledge that makes her more likeable. We have the intimacy of her coming into Mrs Gipps’ bedroom for a chat, thinking that she was alone, and finding Governor Gipps stretched out on the bed; we have the cringing, walking-on-eggshells embarrassment when Gipps was furious that she had allowed his carriage to become soaked while she was using it.
For me- and I admit that this is probably an acquired taste- I enjoyed finding characters from “my” Port Phillip and Sydney strolling onto the stage. So we meet Mr Verner (who was to become Judge Willis’ good friend and neighbour) bowling along in his carriage with two friends; there’s a ship with Protector Robinson’s Van Diemen’s Land aborigines on board (some of whom were to be sentenced to death by Judge Willis two years later); Captain Lonsdale (who was to become one of Judge Willis’ targets) taking them to a corroboree but arriving late so that it was all over by the time they arrived; there’s Chief Justice Dowling and his wife, and Justice Alfred Stephen (Judge Willis’ brother judges with whom he was anything but ‘brotherly’). In fact- and this is important for my purposes- conspicuously absent is Judge Willis and his good lady from the balls and levees and receptions that were laid out for Lady Jane Franklin.
And so, eventually Jane headed for home. What a trip that was! As with all journeys once you’ve decided that yes, you’re ready to go home, it seemed to take an age. But in this case it did- five weeks from leaving the heads to their arrival back in Hobart (a trip that can take about 3-4 days for the Sydney to Hobart yacht race today). Buffeted by storms, and with food and water supplies running low, their ship bobbed around; once almost glimpsing the coast of Tasmania before being swept out into the seas again over towards New Zealand. Relieved, no doubt to be back, you still sense Hobart society swallowing her up again, with criticisms of her recklessness in even embarking on the trip and sniffy comments about petticoat government.
Penny Russell has intervened quite a bit in this book. She has, by her own admission
emphasised particular stories, bringing into bolder relief images that are blurred, tangled or broken in Jane Franklin’s original. (p.17)
From the original transcript, retrieved and recorded by Roger Millis (who wrote the huge tome on Waterloo Creek), she has favoured people over trees or buildings, but not reproduced “the exhaustive and inexhaustible coverage of the original”, she has omitted hearsay information, and trimmed wordiness and detail “to give them greater narrative cohesion and more dramatic immediacy.” She has supplemented the text with lengthy footnotes, giving a biographical sketch of the people Franklin mentions in passing, and interspersed Jane Franklin’s own text with clearly marked corroborating information from letters and other people’s diaries. The book is given a clearer structure by its division into chronological chapters, many of which are prefaced by an italicized introduction. You are aware, and Russell makes no secret of the fact, that you are reading a mediated text. Which is probably a good thing: as the back cover blurb notes:
An intrepid traveller, Jane Franklin was consumed by an unquenchable curiosity. She looked, questioned, listened and wrote- pages and pages of minuscule notes on every topic that came to hand. This edition, carefully abridged and introduced by Penny Russell, makes the diary available for the first time to general readers.
And while it’s probably not exactly a ripping yarn, we general readers (and more specialized ones too) should be glad that she has.
Mary Carr’s memoir about adolescence and her teenage years completely enrapture the reader throughout. The story is at times compelling, harrowing, and also entertaining.
There’s something innocent and intelligent about her prose that inspired me during my writing and had me dig into my own experiences. Specifically her kiss with her crush:
“John’s tongue is not hard and pointy like Davie Ray’s or plumb absent like Bobbie’s. It parts my lips a little as if testing the warmth of water. And after a second I get the idea that my tongue’s supposed to do something other than lay there or draw back hiding. I ease it forward so as not to poke at him the way Davie Ray Hawks did me. I taste the coppery flesh of his soft tongue on my wet one. My breathing seizes up again. And I put my hands up and press them flat against his chest because half of me is afraid I’ll fall entirely into him if he keeps holding me.”
What I particularly culled from this passage was her ability to capture those first moments of liking a boy, the sensations of a first kiss and everything in between.
Although this passage was my favorite (I have many throughout), the last third of the novel delves into her acid trips with random boys which at some point mesh into one another. At this point of the novel, I found it hard to follow her through her drug induced foray (perhaps the point?). This reminded me too much of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (the movie) in which I couldn’t follow, not even as a voyeur.
Would I suggest this novel? Yes. I enjoyed her writing very much and I look forward to reading more of her work.
Late last year I completed Torah Club Volume 2 : Shadows of the Messiah, available from First Fruits of Zion. It is a once a week study of the Torah ( first 5 books of the Bible ) that goes for a year, and will probably reveal more in that time than you have known your entire Christian life. It also has an option to purchase an audio package, but since I did not get it this will focus solely on the written materials.
Well, unless you’ve been one for less than a year. Don’t screw with me okay, it’s been a long day for me!
First off, I should qualify that I am not a full fledged gung-ho Messianic Christian. Let’s just say for simplicities sake that I am a garden variety evangelical, with a good dose of Hebraic Roots blended in. It’s unfortunate that I need to even state my defense, but such is always the case whenever this subject comes up.
So what is the gist of this package? For a year you will read through the Torah and for possible the first time you will see what Jesus meant when he said “search the scriptures” to find him. He was talking about the Old Testament, but few of us have ever understood that reality. We instead think he must have been referring to Paul somehow.
Is Jesus in the Torah like he said, or is it just symbolic hypothesis that is read into the text? I was amazed at just how much of him is there. The story of Messiah is not some idea that began two thousand years ago, it begins at day one.
Torah Club is not your typical Bible study. You will read thorough old sages, some who have amazing insight, and some who I must admit are just plain fruitcakes. The study makes it clear that the old Jewish sages offer interesting historical insight, but to be sure to take their views no further.
There can be some difficulty for the average Christian in the sense that many names can be confusing. Jesus is Yeshua, Moses is Moshe, etc. It doesn’t take long to get up to speed, but the first-comer might wonder who the writer is talking about. Yet at the same time, there’s no harm in knowing the proper pronunciation either!
In a modern church that has all but purged Jesus of his Jewishness, we have more or less fulfilled the Genesis story of Joseph, where we have made our master so “Egyptian” that his own brothers, Israel, do not recognize him anymore as one of their own. He’s now a blue eyed European, and in what is becoming all too common, he now resembles a North American social activist. Shame on us.
Doing Torah Club does not mean that you must become part of some Christian fringe group. But it does mean you may have to put long held beliefs to the test. Currently I am involved in Volume 3, and will post a review in November when it is complete. Thus far, it is very promising!
I give this 4.5 Feathers out of 5. Do yourself a favor, and get this Bible study that has teeth!
Since I had picked up Jen Bryant’s Trial at the same time, I decided to follow it up with her other courtroom-drama-verse-novel, Ringside, 1925. This was Bryant’s treatment of the Scopes trial in Tennessee over the teaching of evolution.
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Ringside, 1925: Views from the Scopes Trial by Jen Bryant
Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2008
Courtesy of Amazon.com:
Review
Starred Review, Publishers Weekly, February 25, 2008: “The colorful facts she retrieves, the personal story lines and the deft rhythm of the narrative are more than enough invitation to readers to ponder the issues she raises.
Product Description
The year is 1925, and the students of Dayton, Tennessee, are ready for a summer of fishing, swimming, some working, and drinking root beer floats at Robinson’s Drugstore. But when their science teacher, J. T. Scopes, is arrested for having taught Darwin’s theory of evolution in class, it seems it won’t be just any ordinary summer in Dayton.
As Scopes’ trial proceeds, the small town is faced with astonishing, nationwide publicity: reporters, lawyers, scientists, religious leaders, and tourists. But amidst the circus-like atmosphere is a threatening sense of tension–not only in the courtroom, but among even the strongest of friends. This compelling novel in poems chronicles a controversy with a profound impact on science and culture in America–and one that continues to this day.
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Strengths: This one had more meat to it than The Trial. It felt like Bryant fleshed this one out more. There is a wide range of characters whose perspectives Bryant uses to tell the story, which I liked, as well as using different verse styles to create a unique voice for each character.
Potential Flaws: I still can’t help but think verse novels are somehow easier to write. I kept thinking, “I could do this.” In this case, I felt at times like Bryant wrote out a rather simple narrative and then broke it into verse. Her variations are cosmetic: line length, page placement. Nothing using rhyme or more structured verse, which I felt would have added some dimension.
My Rating:
As with The Trial, I was just not particularly excited about this one. Comparably, it was better, but there was definitely room for improvement.
In accordance with my usual procedure, I finished reading this book earlier today (after lunch, while eating a few stray doughnuts); I am now doing my review of the book, and this evening at 7:00 pm I will be discussing the book with the other members of the Third Tuesday Book Club. I will say that I had read the book many years ago, certainly before I started keeping lists of the books I read (which was in 1999), and that I had remembered it as being a fun read. I can now report that my memory was not faulty on that point, even if I had forgotten just about everything else in the book.
The book opens with the immortal line, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” It is September in the year 1811, and Mrs. Bennet of Longbourn is quite excited that a Mr. Bingley has taken the nearby country estate of Netherfield, and that he is rich and unmarried. Her thoughts immediately turn to how she can turn this chance into marriage for one of her five daughters: Jane (22), Elizabeth (20), Mary (about 18), Catherine, known as Kitty (17) and Lydia (15). She thereby applies to her husband, Mr. Bennet; he must call at Netherfield so that Mr. Bingley can eventually become introduced to the daughters. He does so, and a few weeks later Mr Bingley attends a dance with his unmarried sister, his married sister and her husband, and “another young man”, who is admired for being rich and handsome, until he was found to “be proud, to be above his company, and above being pleased”. When Mr. Bingley encourages his friend, Mr. Darcy, to dance with the Bennet daughter sitting nearby, Mr. Darcy makes disparaging comments about the said daughter, loud enough for the daughter in question to hear. This is Elizabeth Bennet, who is intelligent, lively, and outspoken, with a tendency to judge on first impressions. She immediately decides that she cannot abide Mr. Darcy for his pridefulness; and her prejudice against him defines her relations with him for the first half of the novel.
The book follows the Bennet daughters, and Elizabeth in particular, as they make their way through the next year and a half, meeting other men in society. Mr. Collins is Mr. Bennet’s cousin, who will one day inherit Longbourn; as he is a clergyman who has a rich patron (whom he adores), and as she has told him to get a wife, he comes to Longbourn to marry one of his cousin’s daughters (he does not much care which one). Mr. Wickham, who joins the militia stationed in the nearby town, is quite the gentleman, who grew up with Mr. Darcy, and who feels he has been hardly used by Mr. Darcy.
Besides being a very good story, with unforgettable characters (Austen is quite as good at characterization as Charles Dickens), it is a fascinating window into a time and place little understood by those of us in the Western 21st Century. It is a world where people of a certain class have standards of style, dress, and etiquette to maintain, and where one simply does not do things that are not sanctioned by society. It is also a world where class is extremely important; there are rules and regulations (mostly unwritten, but still very important) for how one interacts with one who is of a lower social class, and how one interacts with one who is of a higher social class. It is furthermore a world where rich young men essentially do nothing, because they can afford to do nothing, and where women learn to draw, or sing, or play the piano, and wait for the rich young men to come and court them. The worst fate (almost) that can befall a woman is to not become married, because then one is dependent on one’s brothers for support.
I will also note the invaluable assistance rendered by my having read an Annotated edition of the book; the text of the book is on the left-hand pages, and the annotations are on the facing right-hand pages. The annotations cover unfamiliar words, and also contain citations from Austen’s life, letters, and other writings. One can certainly read the book and enjoy the book without the annotations, but in my opinion they made for a more enriched reading of the book; and I will happily use the information from the annotations at my Third Tuesday Book Club meeting tonight.
Ruins in Jaffna
The Killing of Monday Brown is the 2nd of three books in the Phoebe Siegel mystery series by Sandra West Prowell. The series is set in Montana, home of the author. This book revolves around indian culture and traditionalism. It was very interesting and, although not the best book I’ve read, a good read.
Late last year I completed Torah Club Volume 2 : Shadows of the Messiah, available from First Fruits of Zion. It is a once a week study of the Torah ( first 5 books of the Bible ) that goes for a year, and will probably reveal more in that time than you have known your entire Christian life. It also has an option to purchase an audio package, but since I did not get it this will focus solely on the written materials.
As with The Trial, I was just not particularly excited about this one. Comparably, it was better, but there was definitely room for improvement.